I'm back...but probably just for a visit.

 Anything exciting happen while I was gone? 🤣

Google and Barnes and Noble Nook issue with dozens (or hundreds or thousands) of empty "Starred in Android" groups

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! Backup first!

A brief history:
If you search for "starred in android" (with the quotes) currently it will lead you to posts (like this one) by dozens, maybe hundreds of people who have A LOT of "Starred in Android" folders in their Google Contacts. There is a lot of speculation that it's a Barnes and Noble Nook syncing issue as nearly everyone posting (as far as I can tell) has or had a Nook.

UPDATE:
I have gotten some feedback (see comments) that people who don't have or never have had Nooks are experiencing this issue as well.

Those who are in this situation end up with anywhere from dozens to literally (like mine) THOUSANDS of these empty folders in their contacts. It really slows things down - I've noticed quite a difference since fixing mine.

So far, the only suggested solution is backing up your contacts and running a 5 year old script that deletes all of your groups! (YUK!)

So, I started thinking about solutions and thought maybe there was a action replaying software option I could use. Sure enough, I remembered one and managed to get it working.

UPDATE:
I came across someone else's script which runs "inside" the Google system. No need to make any real changes like mine.

WHAT YOU NEED:
You will need an add-on called iMacros and I recommend doing this (at least the recording part) in Firefox. You will need to record X/Y coordinates in iMacros and I haven't figured out how to get them in Chrome.

UPDATE:
Apparently CLICK is not supported in Chrome. It's for Firefox only.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Once you have iMacros installed and opened, it should appear in a window on the side of your browser.

1. Click on the "Edit" tab and then settings.
2. Click on Recording Preferences and then Use X/Y position.....if you can find X/Y in the Chrome version then go for Chrome.
3. Now, go to your Google contacts page, then on the iMacros window, click record (on the iMacros record tab).

The next few steps are pretty much what you would normally do to delete the folders.

1. Click the first "Starred in Android" folder.
2. Click on "More" at the top, then "Delete group" and finally OK.
3. Click stop 

Now, along with some other code, there should be 4 sets of coordinates proceeded by "CLICK". YOUR NUMBER WILL BE DIFFERENT!

1. CLICK X=98 Y=488
2. CLICK X=435 Y=86
3. CLICK X=453 Y=205
4. CLICK X=423 Y=400

VERY IMPORTANT! MAKE SURE YOU DELETE THE FIRST SET OF COORDINATES!! This is how we make the script stop when all the groups are gone!!!

Copy the script below (starting at Version BUILD) and place YOUR coordinates in the lines indicated below IN PLACE OF MINE!
Lines beginning with ' are comment lines. These explain the next line(s) of code
'This is an example of a comment line

SCRIPT:

VERSION BUILD=8601111 RECORDER=FX
'Script by Sean A. Flesch www.sflesch.com
'2014-01-06
'Reuse and sharing allowed, please just include credits
'
'I assume this is just the first tab
TAB T=1
'Reset the URL - I'm thinking this may help to keep memory from building up
URL GOTO=https://www.google.com/contacts/
'Wait until the page loads - increase if you get an error about not finding Starred In Android
WAIT SECONDS=25
'Tag the first Starred in Android folder
'The next line is INSTEAD OF your FIRST set of coordinates!!
TAG POS=1 TYPE=A ATTR=TXT:StarredinAndroid
'Give it a second for the menu to come up for the group
WAIT SECONDS=1
'Location for the "More" button after selecting the group
'Put your second set of coordinates in place of mine in the next line
CLICK X=435 Y=86
WAIT SECONDS=1
'Location for "Delete Group" after selecting "More" in the previous step
'Put your third set of coordinates in place of mine in the next line
CLICK X=453 Y=205
WAIT SECONDS=1
'Location of "OK" button for confirmation to "Delete Group"
'Put your fourth set of coordinates in place of mine in the next line
CLICK X=423 Y=400
WAIT SECONDS=1


Copy the above script and save it in iMacros with whatever name you choose.
After you have tested it a few times, under the Play tab, increase the number under the Max box . I messed around with this for a while and probably deleted a few hundred groups (I didn't realize I had so many) thinking the script wasn't working. Once I tweaked it enough (the first wait command is the key one!), I figured out I had over 2,000 groups! I ran my last two loops 1,000 time each

Yes! 2,000 after deleting several hundred already!

SOME FINAL NOTES:

So, if your script errors out, especially with an error about finding "Starred in Android", remember two things:
1) Try not to run a lot on your computer while running the script (maybe run it overnight)
2) Increase the FIRST Wait by a few seconds. This will allow it a little more time to finish loading the page.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! Backup first!

Craigslist Rental Scams

I haven't seen too much out there on these Craigslist rental scams, so I figured I'd post and warn folks. I really wish Craigslist would provide a scam button to report these.

So you're looking for an apartment and you find a great priced one with EVERYTHING you want. Maybe you have pets, maybe you want a dishwasher, multiple bathrooms, etc. They even have pictures. The ad reads something like this:

the local ambiance while enjoying the latest in inviting venues for entertaining family and friends. 2 bed 2.5 bath.

*Kitchen with almost new appliances
*Floor plan that offers breathing room to spare
*Energy efficient microwave
*Washer dryer
*Family/rec room
*Schools nearby
*Double pane windows
Don't sacrifice quality! Come see ur new home today! Email us before it's too late.
cats are OK - purrr
dogs are OK - wooof
Location: Macedon
it's ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Sounds great, right? Yeah, except it's a scam. First, who needs 2 beds and 2.5 baths? There's no address or phone number. If you choose to email them, you will get a response from another email saying:

Hey,

The property is a 2 bedroom 2.0 bath with garage and washer/dryer. Dogs and cats are accepted with a $100 cleaning fee.
Requirements to rent our property are as follows:
1. PhotoID
2. 1st months rent and optional fee for pets
3. Lease Agreement, I will bring this to the viewing
(It's month-to-month, 6 month or one year)
4. Background check for each applicant
The service we use is Tenant Verified: with a link here.
This is an easy way for me to screen applicants based on prior rental history and job history. If you have a felony or bad rental history, I'm flexible and I will help you out.

Contact me when you've completed your background check. It is in a .pdf, you can print it and bring to the viewing or email it to me. I'm looking for serious tenants not window shoppers or tire kickers, right now I have 3 rentals and a full-time job.
What is the best contact number for you? Are you available tomorrow?

Enjoy your Thursday!

chandra rauch

This spammer even posted two different posts with different emails for the same location with different information. Note the wording on the background check and the "serious tenants not window shoppers or tire kickers".
Craigslist doesn't have an option to report scams, so I reported it under all the topics.

The best thing to do? If they ask for a background check, a deposit up front, or seem to be in a hurry be wary.

Here's a good way to tell if it's a scam. Google search the email address and see if they have other Craiglist posts, especially ones that have been flagged!

My adventures entering my son into the Rochester City School District

So earlier this year, we were at a party for one of my son's daycare friends. We were talking with one of the other parents about registering for Fall Kindergarten. We realized we hadn't seen or heard anything, so we should check the Rochester City School District's web site. Needless to say, we missed the deadline, which was Friday...just two days before the party.

After some investigation, we found out they supposedly did do some advertising...on WDKX. No wonder why we did see or hear anything. Neither of us fall into any of their ratings group.

So we rushed in and got everything taken care of in some sort of hope that it might get him into our district-wide school of choice. No such luck of course, but I had also inquired about the After-School Care program and about changing buses if we need to, so we can have him picked up or dropped off at the Y. They said the school would contact us.

We got Connor's assignment and began our planning, including backup plans. If we didn't qualify for or for some other reason we couldn't use the After-School program, I stopped into the Y and got pricing.

August came around with no information on orientations, buses, or the After-School program. I began calling the school to inquire. I wasn't sure I needed to talk to and the phone tree wasn't very helpful. I left a message and, as I recall, tried again a few days later when I hadn't heard from anyone.

Eventually I talked to someone who promised to email me information on the orientation and bus schedule. They also informed me that the After-School program starts at age 6. The Rochester City School District has NO information at all on the programs. The ONLY hit on their website is just a reference to it's availability in the district zone booklets. No contact information. No pointer to somewhere else to get information. So now, we had to scramble. Thankfully we had our backup plan, although coming up with the cash to pay for it last minute was a huge inconvenience.

I also asked about bus schedules so we could start to make arrangements for before and after school. I was told I would get that information as well. Well, despite more unanswered calls to the school to find out about orientation and changing our bus drop off, I never got a call back.

Eventually we found out the orientation was the Thursday night before school started. We inquired that night about changing his bus drop off. Previous, we called the main district office, who referred us to transportation who referred us to school, who...well, never called us back.

So, we asked about changing his drop-off location at orientation and they entered the information, but it would take ten days to change. We went home and discussed it. How are we supposed to give them ten days when we can't get a hold of anyone at the school?

Friday morning, I called the school, who referred me to the principal (who was on vacation) and the transportation department. I left the principal a message (which was never returned) and called the transportation department. I explained the situation, stating clearly that I had been calling the school for some time with no response. I asked them to make an exception since I had been making the attempt for far more than ten days. The lady I was speaking with referred to a memo that she had in front of her which stated changes take ten days. I firmly, but politely told the lady there that if she can't change it for the first day of school, she needed to give me the contact information of the person who wrote that memo.

She referred me to the Director of Transportation and she said her Secretary would answer if she didn't. I got her voicemail and left a message. I called back that afternoon and got her voicemail again. Tuesday (remember Monday was Labor Day) mid-day I called back one more time and got her voicemail again. I called the main number and explained the situation and told them with school starting tomorrow, I needed to get this taken care of quickly. They called me back that day and said we were all set. There are other children who are on his afternoon bus that go to the Y, so he would be taking the same bus.

So, Wednesday morning comes around and the bus comes. I ask the driver (who was by far the most pleasant and understanding person I dealt with) if she was his afternoon driver and if she got his change in drop-off location. She looked it up and said no, but called back on the radio and inquired. She was told as long as it was on her route, we were all set.

I'm so thankful for that bus driver. I see her every morning and she still has that happy, friendly attitude every day and despite the total chaos we had to deal with elsewhere, we all had a great fist day of school experience.

I think sometimes, people forget to look at what is best for those they are serving. If the RCSD had done more advertising, or had the option online to signup for updates, we would have had a better chance to get into the city-wide school we had hoped for. Instead, they looked at just one demographic and catered to them. I know reverse-racism isn't really the term, but I wondered several times when I heard they advertised at WDKX, "Do they know they have children in their school whose parents listen to other stations, besides WDKX?"

And why do they advertise after-school care but have absolutely no information on their site?

And why can't the school have had a voice tree that explained who was actually working over the summer and for those who weren't working, how do we get things taken care of in their stead? Is it really fair to keep parents in the dark, not know if or when there would be an orientation? Shouldn't kindergarten orientation take precedence? I mean of all the people starting school that year, every single one of those students are new and shouldn't have to wait until the last minute to find out what is going on.

And what about the transportation department? With school starting soon, shouldn't a director be working? At the school I work at, we aren't allowed to take vacation the two weeks leading up to and the two weeks into the start of the semester for these types of reasons. Shouldn't there have been someone that could set my mind at ease?

As a first time parent in the Rochester City School District, I must say that I hope these are just remnants of a past administration. I hope the district takes really some time to look at itself from the outside, from the perspective of the students and parents whom it serves. While we are more at ease now that school has started and our son seems to have a pretty good teacher and a friendly bus driver, I don't know yet what the future holds for our relationship with the district, but bug change is needed, and its needed soon.

Nook Color (and Tablet) rooting via SD card

Basic Instructions are from the eBook Reader web page but written in my own way with some additional pix.

Downloads

• Download the installer image from these links – that’s sort of a base image I think. Not sure which one I used for CM7. It may have been the same one they have with the CM9 links.
• Image Builds: CM7 CM9
• WinImage to apply the image to the card
• Nightly Builds CM7 or CM9 build
• Google apps if you want them are at the bottom of this page. Be sure to grab the one that corresponds with your build (CM7 or CM9)
• For CM9, download fixes for telephony permissions and boot animation. (See CM9 installer page)

Note:
The installer on the CM7 page is a gz file. I don’t recall downloading a program to open that, so I may have used the one from CM9 which is a .zip file. I’m not sure it matters.

From Windows
Unzip the Installer file to get the image file (for example) generic-sdcard-v1.3-ICS-large.img

In WinImage, Restore Virtual Disk (pic1), select your SD card (pic2), Be sure the change to All Files in the bottom right (pic3)

And select the file you unzipped generic-sdcard-v1.3-ICS-large.img. It will write the image to the card.
Drop the nightly build on the card…don’t unzip it.

On the Nook

Insert the card and boot the Nook. (No need to boot into recovery mode)
You should see the Penguin come up followed by a bunch of text. This doesn’t take too long. The unit will power off when done.
Power it on again. Some of the forums recommend connecting to wireless at least once before adding anything else.

In Windows Again
Drop the Google Apps package for your build onto the card.

Nook
Boot holding the “n” button at the bottom to boot into recovery mode. If you miss it, go ahead and boot into Android, and press and hold the power button until the menu comes up, choose reboot and recovery mode.

If you have CM9, you may want to install the telephony fix and the Boot animation fix on the CM9 page. This (I think) is done through the recovery boot.

Any apps you’ve installed using Google play will automatically reinstall themselves in whichever build you have.

Triple Boot Challenge
If you want to try the triple boot, there’s instructions herejust know it is a separate image file.

Applications
When you are all done loading your Nook...heck, during the the down-times between stuff, go to Gizmo's Freeware and start installing apps. This is a great place to start!

Windows 7 - Cannot run multiple instances of excel using "Ignore other applications that use DDE" option

Windows 7 - Cannot run multiple instances of excel using "Ignore other applications that use DDE" option

Want to open two Excel sheets in separate windows? This works in Office 2010.

Check this out! @Google ROCKS!! My own special Happy Birthday Google search
page!!